Our Last Twenty-Something Easter

Kind of a foreboding title eh? It’s true though, we’ll both be thirty the next time Easter rolls around. And as kind of detached, non-committal, sans-religion twenty-somethings, I’m always afraid of the year we’ll finally lose the ability to slip through the cracks of these holidays undetected. With family out of town and no kids to worry about, Easter for us always seems like, well any other Sunday. Sometimes I miss all the traditions and getting to see family, but then again, it’s nice to have a relaxing Sunday of no make-up, dressing up and having to be somewhere. Truth be told, I haven’t felt like celebrating Easter since my grandma passed. It was the holiday that without fail we always celebrated at the farm. We’d do massive egg hunts, breakfasts and dinners every year and it’s still hard not to burst into tears whenever I see plastic Easter grass or big two-dimensional chocolate bunnies.

My very first Easter

With the exception of working more on my final projects for grad school classes, we got some good movies, games and quality time in. Since there’s two of us, we didn’t prepare a huge meal, but we did partake of some fun finger food and Spring-ish type food. We were actually hoping to bbq, but the weather as of late has been either dangerous or cold and rainy, so we opted to play it safe.

Athenos Pesto hummus with baked pita bread is to die for!

Easter candy already on clearance. We LOVE jelly beans!

Have you tried our Sweet and Tangy Strawberry Salad yet? So easy and perfect for all the strawberries that are just starting to come around.

Then Neil started his pièce de résistance, his much coveted deviled eggs. You might have tried his recipe from last year, it’s definitely a good one. This year we did a bit of experimenting, as we’re known to do, and came up with the recipe you’ll see below. Try it, let us know what you think!

Finished cooking and cooling.

I always let Neil do the scooping, I tend to destroy hard-boiled eggs.

Diced pickle, my favorite part!

The filling. The yellow always seems a bit off-putting, but it is SO good!

Even though deviled eggs are super easy to construct, getting them just so can be a bit more challenging. Here is the method that works best for us, along with our new recipe:

Deviled Eggs with Greek Yogurt

Ingredients:

6 eggs
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon paprika
1-2 teaspoons brown mustard (Neil recommends a bit extra)
1 tablespoon dill pickle, diced
1-2 teaspoons pickled jalapeno, diced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon mayonnaise (optional)

Directions:

To Hard-boil Eggs:
1. Put the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan/pot and cover with at least an inch or two of cold water. Starting with cold water and gently bringing the eggs to a boil will help keep them from cracking. Add a little salt and vinegar to the water. Bring to a boil (allow to boil for roughly a minute), then cover and remove from heat. Let sit 12-15 minutes. Drain water and from saucepan or transfer eggs to another bowl with a slotted spoon and run cold water over eggs. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

To Prepare Deviled Eggs:
2. Carefully peel the eggs, halve lengthwise and scoop the yolks into a medium bowl, reserving the egg whites. Mash yolks with all ingredients (except paprika) and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the yolk mixture into the egg white halves and dust each with paprika.

Looking at these pictures, I definitely think I’m in need of some kind of cake frosting equipment so I can achieve perfect deviled egg filling dollops. We’re still using the Ziploc bag method, and although it keeps it neat and much cleaner than just using a spoon, it’s definitely not as pretty.

We really liked this lighter, more flavorful (read: spicy) variation of deviled eggs. I’m really off-put by mayo lately, and am just not crazy about it the way I used to be. The Greek yogurt gives the filling a lighter, fluffier texture and is definitely less tangy than if you used mayo. If you’re like Neil and like the tangy flavor, a little modification of more Greek yogurt and some added apple cider vinegar will probably put your deviled egg world right again.